Review of Starcrash (1978) by Adrian Z — 18 Oct 2014

It's 1978 and you're looking to maintain that Star Wars buzz. Behold, Starcrash ('n Burn) with it's thrilling adventure inspired by the very film you crave more of, and cutting edge gee whiz special effects that will have you believing those remnants of model kits, paper clips, Lego blocks, and screws glued together are real spaceships.

Since it's the 70s, starscapes are convincingly rendered in appealing multicoloured disco lights, which actually make you want to do things to the scantily clad heroine (Caroline Munro, scantily clad, and that's alright).

Along for the ride, a weird Mork/Spock/Luke hybrid light saber wielding character (yes, it's possible!), a Han Solo-like with a puffy, I mean PUFFY, perm (the legendary Hasselhoff), and a robot that looks like Darth Vader, but we know is good, because he speaks with a folksy southern accent, and even exclaims yeehaa when the action gets too good, which usually involves sparklers going off, ahem, spaceships blowing up.

An international cast of Italian and American actors phonetically harmonize thanks to the border demolishing dub, which is hard to pick is even there because the lips rarely fall out of synch... much of the time.

And no need for "making of" featurettes, jump in behind the scenes any time by spotting camera crews on reflective surfaces as they appear. Finally, Academy Award winner John Barry provides a score so rousing, it's main titles get unceremoniously cut half way through because, well, the director thought everyone would be too thrilled to notice.

How right he was! Popcorn choking fun. Warning: children under 3 may actually think this is a Star Wars sequel.